Ed Filipowski, the co-Chairman and Chief Strategist of powerhouse agency KCD and one of the industry’s most powerful public relations executives, passed away on Friday morning. He was 58. He died at his home in New York from complications associated with recent surgery.

In a statement, KCD said that Filipowski “leaves a legacy as a champion of the fashion industry with his unbridled optimism and spirit.” And indeed he does. Filipowski was among fashion’s most strategic, intelligent, and thoughtful executives – a consummate pro, whether he was leading a meeting, navigating a PR crisis, or standing outside the Park Avenue Armory in the pouring rain, making sure that invited guests are comfortably whisked into the Marc Jacobs show – and he did it all with a smile.

He was not just a familiar face in New York, but also in Milan, where, for years, he worked with Gucci and Versace among others, and Paris, where clients have included Givenchy, Balmain, and Alexander McQueen.

Filipowski has been with KCD practically since the agency’s 1984 founding by iconic fashion forces Kezia Keeble, John Duka, and Paul Cavaco. The company was then known as Keeble Cavaco & Duka, and after the death of both Duka and Keeble, Flipowski and Julie Mannion became partners in the agency and renamed it  KCD (Cavaco joined Liz Tilberis at Harper’s Bazaar).

Today, KCD, which is CFDA’s agency of record, has over 100 employees worldwide in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, and London.

“CFDA benefitted so much from Ed’s insight, knowledge, and creativity, and we counted him among our CFDA family,” said Steven Kolb, President and CEO of the CFDA. “He was more than just a PR man; he was one of the smartest strategic thinkers in fashion. There wasn’t a major CFDA decision that did not have Ed’s involvement. He was usually right on what needed to be done.

‘Ed understood the seriousness of fashion, but never took it all too serious,” Kolb continued. “I can’t imagine not seeing his warm and smiling self at the upcoming shows. It just won’t be the same without him. CFDA sends its deepest condolences to the KCD team and to Ed’s family.”

Ed Filipowski had a deep interest in supporting young talent and the CFDA is honored that KCD has designated the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund as a recipient of memorial gifts in his name. For more information, please email us at Inmemoryofedfilipowski@cfda.com.